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No.89 Element VW build
- Thread starter 89Industries
- Start date
89Industries
Pebble Pounder
Update: Somebody's gotta drive this thing.
Not sure why but having a driver and interior makes things eve better so I decided to attempt one for the VW Beetle.
Started with a DinkyRC Universal Interior Kit
I knew the Beetle body was going to be a little tricky to fit anything into simply cause its not a truck or SUV.
I could either cut material off the sides or try to narrow the interior from the center. I chose to remove material from the center so that the interior piece would still have some structure to it from the sides and also so the driver wouldn't be jammed up against the door. So I simply cut the interior in half front to back and then overlapped them and glued the sides back together. Here's pics after gluing.
There were originally 2 "cup holders". I just overlapped so one fit inside the other. I had to remove some other material to get it all to sit relatively flat. Then used some ABS cement on the underside to fill some gaps and add strength to the Tamiya extra thin cement.
Then onto the "paper dolls" part of my process to get the interior to fit into the body.
Then transferred this general shape to the interior and started trimming
Of course it's never as easy as it should be and the back of this interfered with the body mount posts. I probably should have figured out a stealthier way to mount the body than the big old school posts but this is my first custom fit body on chassis so still learning.
Finally got it to fit inside and clear everything. Had to trim a bunch and then add in a little material to cover big gaps. I even added a piece of styrene over the rear fender wells rather than trying to make a rear deck lid extension that would go around the rear body posts.
Used some extra parts from the Vanquish Phoenix kit for some shifting duty.
Then started getting the Tamiya Bruiser driver to fit. Fits pretty well but he ended up being about 10-15mm too tall for the interior to fit up where it needs to be to look right and clear the motor, etc.
So I chopped him in half at the waist and figured out how to put him back together again.
You can see the epoxied joint at the belt line. I used tamiya cement to tack the parts in place and then used JB Weld Plastic Bonder to fill the gaps and make a secure connection. I still have to paint everything but if that works out (JB Weld says it should) then this stuff is great. comes in the twin tube syringe so its easy to mix up just a bit, has reasonable working time and seems super strong now that it is fully cured.
Now he's tucked down into the seat.
Somewhere in the process I also fit the steering wheel. Had to make a little jog piece to get it up just a bit higher but luckily it doesn't need to be functional. Also, positioned the shifters appropriately and attached using the JB Weld plastic bonder as well.
Then I also added some vinyl rather than painting the interior. Grey "primered" floor boards and some aluminum door panels and instrument cluster housing on the dash. Some sticker gages, a little silver sharpie on the steering wheel and some racing stripes on the seats.
Driver seems to like his new home. Now it just needs to get warm enough outside to spray primer on him and then paint him with some brushes.
So, more to come after he gets painted. Supposed to be 50's today and 60's tomorrow so fingers crossed the primer will get done before next week.
Not sure why but having a driver and interior makes things eve better so I decided to attempt one for the VW Beetle.
Started with a DinkyRC Universal Interior Kit
I knew the Beetle body was going to be a little tricky to fit anything into simply cause its not a truck or SUV.
I could either cut material off the sides or try to narrow the interior from the center. I chose to remove material from the center so that the interior piece would still have some structure to it from the sides and also so the driver wouldn't be jammed up against the door. So I simply cut the interior in half front to back and then overlapped them and glued the sides back together. Here's pics after gluing.
There were originally 2 "cup holders". I just overlapped so one fit inside the other. I had to remove some other material to get it all to sit relatively flat. Then used some ABS cement on the underside to fill some gaps and add strength to the Tamiya extra thin cement.
Then onto the "paper dolls" part of my process to get the interior to fit into the body.
Then transferred this general shape to the interior and started trimming
Of course it's never as easy as it should be and the back of this interfered with the body mount posts. I probably should have figured out a stealthier way to mount the body than the big old school posts but this is my first custom fit body on chassis so still learning.
Finally got it to fit inside and clear everything. Had to trim a bunch and then add in a little material to cover big gaps. I even added a piece of styrene over the rear fender wells rather than trying to make a rear deck lid extension that would go around the rear body posts.
Used some extra parts from the Vanquish Phoenix kit for some shifting duty.
Then started getting the Tamiya Bruiser driver to fit. Fits pretty well but he ended up being about 10-15mm too tall for the interior to fit up where it needs to be to look right and clear the motor, etc.
So I chopped him in half at the waist and figured out how to put him back together again.
You can see the epoxied joint at the belt line. I used tamiya cement to tack the parts in place and then used JB Weld Plastic Bonder to fill the gaps and make a secure connection. I still have to paint everything but if that works out (JB Weld says it should) then this stuff is great. comes in the twin tube syringe so its easy to mix up just a bit, has reasonable working time and seems super strong now that it is fully cured.
Now he's tucked down into the seat.
Somewhere in the process I also fit the steering wheel. Had to make a little jog piece to get it up just a bit higher but luckily it doesn't need to be functional. Also, positioned the shifters appropriately and attached using the JB Weld plastic bonder as well.
Then I also added some vinyl rather than painting the interior. Grey "primered" floor boards and some aluminum door panels and instrument cluster housing on the dash. Some sticker gages, a little silver sharpie on the steering wheel and some racing stripes on the seats.
Driver seems to like his new home. Now it just needs to get warm enough outside to spray primer on him and then paint him with some brushes.
So, more to come after he gets painted. Supposed to be 50's today and 60's tomorrow so fingers crossed the primer will get done before next week.
hnoroian
Quarry Creeper
I will, I will… pick me, pick me!
Nice job splitting the interior down the middle. That’s steering wheel and shifter look great!
89Industries
Pebble Pounder
Thanks.
The quality of the dinky RC interior is pretty good. Little thin in places but I'd expect that with the forming they are doing. And the price is right.
The steering wheel itself comes with the Dinky RC interior. It's 3d printed and it's 2 parts. There's a base attached the the column and then the wheel slides into the base. Really good if you need to remove the wheel to get your driver in or out. I don't luckily.
